Living Outside: Road Trip

Over a year ago, a group of us floated down the Grand Canyon for 20 some days. During that trip I had huge goals of venturing up toward the rim. Simply put, I wanted to see what it looked like from "up there." Everyone typically made fun of me, and on two separate trips trying to hike out of the canyon, I experienced the beauty that the different plateaus have to offer... but still never made it to the rim. Since that trip, it has remained a goal of mine to return to the Grand Canyon and this time, look down on the river from either the North or South rim.

So, around graduation, my dad came out with the intent that the day after graduation, we would go on a road trip. We had been planning this since December, and the trip itself had taken many different forms including a road trip to the grand canyon via flights in/out of Las Vegas, a drive up to Banff National Park or a trip down the Oregon Coast ending in the Red Woods. When it was time to finally leave, none of these options were working. This was due to inclement weather that was approaching or really expensive airfare. So, we changed our plans, again, loaded everything into the car and headed South.

The first day we drove to Utah with the goal of making it to Salt Lake. Unfortunately, we got stuck in a snow storm, and made it to Ogden. But that was close enough. The second day, we made the drive to the South Rim via some side roads through Utah. My dream was finally being realized. That evening, I would watch the sunset from the Watchtower on the Grand Canyon as the colors lit the canyon walls as I stared at the canyon where the Little Colorado met with the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River. It was a great evening and the start to an amazing road trip.